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Uriah Heep - Equator Audio CD

A fair review of the Uriah Heep "Equator" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Uriah Heep reviews here, or go back to the Uriah Heep tabs.

Uriah Heep Band: Uriah Heep
Title: Equator
Rating:
Release Date: 2002-10-14
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Rockarama 2: Bad Blood 3: Lost One Love 4: Angel 5: Holding On 6: Party Time 7: Poor Little Rich Girl 8: Skools Burnin' 9: Heartache City 10: Night of the Wolf

Freezing Temperatures at the Equator


Uriah Heep was dumped by its record label after poor sales from Head First, so 1985 marked a new beginning with a new record deal and the release on March 29 of this 16th studio album. The project was doomed from the start. But the return of bassist Trevor Bolder - with Peter Goalby (v), Mick Box (g), John Sinclair (k) and Lee Kerslake (d) - did nothing to bolster the 10 tracks that clock in at 46:54.

The stab at an AOR style in the arena of Def Leppard and Journey just doesn't work well. There is no heart and soul in the biggest attempt at angling for the single's chart - Rockarama - while Bad Blood, Poor Little Rich Girl and Skools Burnin' each run out of gas before the key slides into the ignition. The best out if the mediocre bunch - Night of the Wolf - is the final cut.

Whether or not the band was calling the shots - I tend to think its the latter due to the new contract - this is the weakest studio album in the discography. And that the CD does not contain any bonus tracks, as compared with other studio releases, is a tip-off that interest should only be generated from fans eying to fill in the gaps in their UH collection. .


Amazing...
This is not a typically Uriah Heep record, but you should listen the details. . a lot of keyboard arrangements, the pulsing of Trevor Bolder and Lee Kerslake sounds. . . The voices around the music. . .
Poor Little rich girl is a sound that shows how the musicians build a road for the vocals - Beautiful arrangement.
Please be advised: this is a chance for good entretainement - but please: listen twice and in details before evaluate.


3 1/2 stars - Enjoyable 80s rock
These early 80s albums saw the band with a significant lineup change from the 70s, and the new members combine with the times to make the band hardly recognizable as the old group - they went from sounding very 70s to sounding very early-80s (like just about everyone else in the scene). This CD seems to be considered (by some) the low point of Uriah Heep, but it sound OK to me! It's the 3rd and final of their albums with vocalist Peter Goalby. Like the 3 late 70s Heep albums with John Lawton, the Goalby era starts with a strong reinvention of the group ("Abominog"), followed by albums which gradually veer towards softer, weaker pop. And like the Lawton albums, it's not a HUGE decrease - Equator really doesn't sound too different from the preceeding "Head First" which isn't too big a step from "Abominog". So, if you like Heep or early 80s rock, start with Abominog, then Head First, then Equator and you should't be greatly surprised or disappointed if you like the previous album! I actually find this more interesting than the following two albums ("Raging Silence" and "Different World" - where new singer Bernie Shaw had a rather bland start, before helping create several great Heep CDs). So, if you're new to the band I'd suggest their early 70s stuff, "Firefly", or "Wake the Sleeper", but if you're finishing of your Heep collection or a fan of "Abominog" this isn't a bad album.
Oh, and I agree with the other reviewers that "Night of the Wolf" is a great song!.


Track Correction on Amazon's website
Track's 1 thru 7 are correct on the amazon site
Track 8 is Skool's Burnin'
track 9 is Heartache City
Track 10 is Night of the wolf

I have the album.


Not Typical Uriah Heep, But Decent 80's Pop
The more bad things I hear about an album, the more I want to hear it to see how bad it could be. I usually like to search out albums that have been roundly trashed by fans. Much of the time the bad ratings are justified; but many times a bad takes a new direction to change with the times. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't.

In this case it was 1984-1985 and Uriah Heep had just come off two pretty successful albums ("Abominog" and "Head First") that breathed new life into a then uncertain future. "Equator" may not have been the most logical step for the band, as it takes a big step away from their traditionally guitar driven sound fans came to expect and introduced heavy pop keyboards and some fairly cheesy lyrics. In all honesty, it's not all that bad of an album. Yes, they do occasionally stumble on this album ("Party Time" and "Skool's Burnin'"), but there's some really good material here ("Night of the Wolf" and "Poor Little Rich Girl" comes to mind).


Should you rush out and buy "Equator"? Only if you're looking for some good mid-80's pop or you want to round out your Uriah Heep Collection. I really don't think it's representative of Uriah Heep, but then again, I think the band has put out albums of similar quality ("Raging Silence" and "Different World") that many fans rank above this album.

So does "Equator" deserve its bad reputation? In my opinion, no. While it's by no means definitive Uriah Heep music, it is a good three star album.


You can see a complete list of all Uriah Heep discography, or go back to the Uriah Heep tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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